How the set of Sisters turned into a family affair

We know — and enjoy — how close onscreen Sisters siblings Amy Poehler and Tina Fey are in real life. But that’s just a part of the familial atmosphere that became the Sisters set when it was in production. After all, the screenplay was written by longtime SNL and 30 Rock writer, Paula Pell, who based the story on her own relationship with her sister growing up. Then there was the very funny supporting cast—Jon Leguizamo, Rachel Dratch, Maya Rudolph, Samantha Bee, Bobby Moynihan, Kate McKinnon, and Ike Barinholz — many who whom have known Fey and Poehler for years.

Poehler remembers on particularly poignant day. “Maya brought her kids, Dratch brought her boy, my kids were there, and Tina’s kids, and Paula and Ike — who I’ve known forever — and we put all the kids together on a stoop for a picture,” she says. “It was really awesome. It’s just really nice to have these tiny SNL families. It doesn’t happen a lot. Having a film with someone you’ve known and shared so much with for so long? I don’t take that for granted.”

Poehler has two young sons and Fey has two young daughters, so EW wondered if there could be a second-generation love connection. “An arranged marriage? It’s the only way to do it,” says Fey. “I think it’s really going to come back in fashion — in the 2030s maybe.”

Of course, with the two friends living on opposite coasts the matchmaking probably can’t begin just yet. “Right now we’re keeping them apart to build the tension,” says Poehler. “If they know each other too much at a young age, all fire is going to be killed.”

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